Page:Prometheus Unbound - Shelley.djvu/147

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        Man, oh, not men! a chain of linkèd thought,
        Of love and might to be divided not,
      Compelling the elements with adamantine stress;
        As the sun rules even with a tyrant's gaze
        The unquiet republic of the maze
      Of planets, struggling fierce towards heaven's free wilderness:

        Man, one harmonious soul of many a soul,
        Whose nature is its own divine control,
      Where all things flow to all, as rivers to the sea;
        Familiar acts are beautiful through love;
        Labor, and pain, and grief, in life's green grove
      Sport like tame beasts; none knew how gentle they could be!

        His will, with all mean passions, bad delights,
        And selfish cares, its trembling satellites,
      A spirit ill to guide, but mighty to obey,
        Is as a tempest-wingèd ship, whose helm
        Love rules, through waves which dare not overwhelm,
      Forcing life's wildest shores to own its sovereign sway.